Making a Career Change for the Better

By Annette Dawm, WorkStory Ambassador

Ashlyn Joyce works as a Registered Practical Nurse (RPN) in a Long-Term Care Facility, which is a job she loves because “it is never dull or boring”, especially since she primarily works in the “locked dementia unit”. There are a wide variety of behaviours that are exhibited by the residents and because they  are battling an unpredictable disease, they can also become unpredictable themselves. It is important to realize that they cannot help the way they are and it takes a special person like Ashlyn to take care of them.

Being a Registered Practical Nurse can be very rewarding, but also incredibly sad, so Ashlyn advises others to “laugh every day”.  Unfortunately, she acknowledges that “you'll have hard days when your favourite resident will pass away, but you need to be able to get through the hard times.... I find that laughing is one of the best ways to get through those rough times.”

One of Ashlyn’s most rewarding moments came when a resident told her that she was good at her job and that she “will go far in life”, thanks to her kind and caring nature. Ashlyn finds that by taking a few minutes out of her day to talk with her residents, it helps build a “therapeutic connection” while getting to know them “on a personal level”.

Throughout her academic career, Ashlyn realized that healthcare was her “destined field”, but not before she went down a different path in hopes of becoming a teacher. Initially her studies began at Brock University: “I started out gearing my life towards teaching math and French, but after I finished my first year of that, I knew it wasn't for me. So, on a whim... I signed up for the Personal Support Worker (PSW) course and loved it.” Ashlyn graduated as a PSW from Niagara College. She then took a year off to work and save enough money in order to continue her studies as an RPN at Fanshawe College and “hasn’t regretted a day since”.

When teaching didn’t work out as planned for Ashlyn, she feared that her parents may never speak to her again. She was very open with her parents about needing to make a change, and they knew how she felt: “...when I dropped out of university I was terrified my parents would disown me” she said. So, this fear motivated Ashlyn to come up with a back-up plan geared towards nursing in order to stay in school. “[I] ended up loving my decision to change programs” and, as she puts it, “you'll never know what you enjoy doing if you're living in fear of pleasing others.”

Ashlyn hopes that if others can relate to her situation, that they do what makes them happy in terms of living their own life. Today, she and her parents have a more positive relationship, now that they’ve seen Ashlyn pursue something that she loves: “They're proud of me” she remarked, “and [they] said I'm good at what I do and I obviously enjoy doing it. So as long as I'm happy, they are too.”

  Ashlyn made the most of attending various schools and encourages others to “take every opportunity they can to keep learning and expanding their knowledge base” wherever they are. She advised that “You never know what lies ahead, so keep asking questions and taking everything in, because one day it will all come to use.”

Although Ashlyn’s career path didn’t lead her to a classroom, her residents are much like students. They require the adequate attention and emotional support she provides: “It always keeps me on my toes because anything could happen” she explained. Whether the residents are going through a medical or emotional issue, she has to be there, “to assess them quickly and provide the necessary support to them.”

Also like many teachers, Ashlyn loves that she is able to make a difference in people’s lives, “no matter how small that difference is”. Every day, whether it is through helping others, getting to know someone, or taking the time to laugh, Ashlyn Joyce finds validation that she has made a career change for the better.

Lisa Charleyboy’s Fashion Mag Will Tackle Aboriginal Issues With Style

By Tiffany Hsieh

Photo by Sofie Kirk

Lisa Charleyboy (BA ’10, York University) always felt like an outsider to her Tsilhqot’in community and reserve in Alexis Creek First Nation, B.C. What helped ground her while growing up in Abbotsford, a suburb of Vancouver, was her insatiable interest in fashion and magazines. At 10, she devoured Vogue magazine cover to cover. By Grade 10, she decided she would move to Toronto upon graduation to study fashion communication. But it was at York University that Charleyboy discovered her indigenous roots and her true passion, which paved the way for embracing her native culture through writing on fashion and all things lifestyle.

“At York, I was encouraged to explore my heritage through writing and assignments, to explore history and be more critical about aboriginal issues in Canada,” she says. “I was very engaged as a student and with the student paper. I really enjoyed my time at York. It was a fantastic experience.”

Charleyboy is now a writer, fashion blogger, social entrepreneur and actress. She graduated from York’s Professional Writing program after a stint in fashion communication studies at another university didn’t prove to be what she desired. While a student at York, Charleyboy wrote fashion columns for Indian Country Today, was a fashion editor at York’s Excalibur, an intern at Lush magazine and a weekly contributor at MSN.ca on beauty, fashion and lifestyle. She also started her popular blog Urban Native Girl as a way to engage in writing and social media, and connect with native peoples from across North America.

When Charleyboy was approached by York to work as an aboriginal recruitment officer upon graduation, “It felt way off path,” she recalls. “I wanted to go into fashion magazines.” However, after the University approached her a few times, she decided it was a good opportunity for her to engage aboriginal youth about pursuing postsecondary education at York and following their dreams.

“There’s a native belief that if you are being asked to do something three times, you have to really give it some careful thought and consideration,” she says. “I took the job. I got to travel and meet people. I was involved with the native community across Canada. The job changed my focus to indigenous issues.”

During her two years in the role, Charleyboy helped York build relationships with First Nations communities all across the country. Among her many accomplishments, she helped to bring renowned author and York alumnus Joseph Boyden to campus for a speakers’ series. Not only has Boyden been a mentor to Charleyboy ever since, but he’s contributed to an anthology about indigenous youth that she co-edited. The book, titled Dreaming in Indian, Contemporary Native American Voices, was published last fall by Annick Press.

“The job at York shifted my life and opened my eyes,” she says. “Had it not been for this experience, my magazine would be more fluffy.”

Urban Native Magazine, an online publication Charleyboy launched in 2013, bears a mission to be “the go-to destination for current articles on indigenous fashion, art, culture, entertainment, lifestyle, news and business.” Despite the stark reality of print media’s continuing decline, her magazine’s first quarterly print issue is scheduled for launch this winter.

“I want my magazine to inspire indigenous youth. I want to distribute the magazine in northern communities, where there is limited access to smartphones and computers and not a lot of magazines in this realm,” Charleyboy says. “One of the things I hope to explore is fashion through [photo] shoots for my magazine and to showcase aboriginal fashion designers.”

Aside from being one of Canada’s most popular bloggers, Charleyboy was selected as a 2013-14 DiverseCity Fellow, one of North America’s leading urban fellows programs for rising city builders. As part of the fellowship, she has worked on an aboriginal youth media training initiative in Toronto. In her free time, Charleyboy has also been working on a book about urban native millennials, writing a “native chick lit” novel about a young woman in a big city looking for love, and filming a 13-part television documentary series called Urban Native Girl, which follows her as she takes her blog and turns it into a native lifestyle magazine featuring aboriginal fashion. The documentary is scheduled to air on Aboriginal Peoples Television Network in fall 2015.

“Fashion is always with me,” says Charleyboy, who recently moved to Vancouver to pursue a master’s degree in business administration. “Even though I never thought I’d be a writer, I have transformed my love for fashion through my love for my culture and writing. It’s been an incredible journey.”

This article appeared in the Winter 2015 edition of York U, the magazine of York University.  Reprinted with permission. 

Putting It All Together: Michelle’s Public Relations Story

By Annette Dawm, WorkStory Ambassador

Michelle Praymayer is the Public Relations and Promotional Events Assistant at Home Hardware Stores Limited for the head office in St. Jacobs, Ontario. With previous employment in the radio and television industries, and as a former student of both Conestoga and Fanshawe College, Michelle has used her promotional and media experiences to excel as a member of the Home Hardware team.

Michelle says that she loves “the variety” that her job brings: “Every day is unique and I get to be a part of so many neat things.” Along with variety, Michelle loves the atmosphere surrounding her workplace: “It’s a family business. It’s a small town environment and most people know each other and are very friendly.... It adds to the charm.”

 On a typical day,  Michelle can be found phoning store owners and customers, picking products to donate to fundraisers, answering emails, creating and editing press releases or newsletter articles, as well as creating product lists. On the not-so typical days, Michelle’s variety of tasks increases! For example, earlier this year, she organized the entertainment for Home Hardware Canada's national Dealer Market event, which included a circus act called, “The Aerial Angels” and she was chosen to coordinate the Lieutenant Governor’s visit to the Home Hardware distribution centre as well. In addition, Michelle has suited up as the mascot, “Handy the Helpful Hound” for Thanksgiving and Christmas parades. Through her work, she was also able to attend the 2014 International Plowing Match which took place in Alliston, ON. Michelle has even worked alongside the experts seen in the Home Hardware commercials, Mark Cullen and Anna Olson!

 Initially, Michelle wasn’t expecting to get the job: “My mom worked there first and brought home the posting. I applied in March... and didn’t get a call until end of May. They hired me in that interview.” Michelle began working at Home Hardware in June 2014 and credits her previous experiences, including volunteer work, for helping her acquire this position. “Say yes to every opportunity” says Praymayer. “Volunteer in the field or a related field early to gain the competitive edge and make you more appealing to the employer.”

 Michelle studied at Conestoga College in her hometown of Kitchener for a career in Broadcasting; This led to appearances on television and radio and many other opportunities. After one year, she changed directions and continued her education at Fanshawe College in London with the Music Industry Arts program. After graduating, Michelle took some time off and returned to Conestoga to become an Event Planner. Michelle says that she is still figuring out what to do with her life. However, she has been able to successfully apply aspects from all of her programs as a Public Relations and Promotional Events Assistant for Home Hardware:

 “It’s really neat to see things from my past coming up” Praymayer explains. Michelle worked on entertainment contracts while in school, which is something she has to do at work when booking the entertainment for various events. “I created training videos here [and] I used previous knowledge from my writing skills [I] developed [as a writer for] SportsXpress magazines”. Michelle also had previous work experience in the food industry which has helped her to create menus for other special events. Although Michelle Praymayer may be unclear on what her future holds, it is certain that she will continue to excel at what she does, thanks to her hard work and determination, in whatever field she chooses.

Amy Haughton’s Love of Childcare

By Emma Kushnir, WorkStory Ambassador

Amy Haughton has always loved working with young children. Since Amy herself was a child in daycare, she loved to see the children around her grow and develop. She realized she wanted to work with children early on, from the strong and positive relationships with the younger infants at the daycare with her. That is why she attended St. Lawrence College in Kingston, Ontario, for Registered Early Childhood Education.  After working in the field for 15 months, she secured a job at Westport Child Care, in Westport, Ontario. As a Registered Early Childhood Educator (RECE), she works with children from the age of 12 months to school age. At Westport Child Care she is working with a focus on infants. The goals of an RECE are “assessing the children’s developmental needs and stages in all developmental domains. To design programming to address children’s identified needs, stages of development, and most importantly their interests, where children can be actively engaged. To provide an enriched, positive, safe and caring environment for play and activities that help children make developmental progress. Create a positive rapport with parents, children and coworkers and always report to the parents about their progress.”

Amy says the thing she loves most about the job is that she is making a difference in a child’s life. Whether it is teaching them something new or building a positive and lasting relationship with the parents and children. “Walking into work everyday and seeing that the children have been waiting for me, with their smiling faces, is so fulfilling.” She indulges that “this career can be very challenging and mentally draining, but there is so much that makes it worth it. Watching a child grow in developmental domains that they had previously been struggling with, or teaching a child something new that they are so proud to show there parents, makes the job so worthwhile.”

She explains that through her life, many people encouraged her to work in the career. Many peers and family members would tell her she wasn’t only good with children but also bonded with them quickly, making childcare something she should do for a career. The hardest decision for her was what career she wanted to go into whether it be Child and Youth Worker, or Early Childhood Educator.            

Amy’s advice for people figuring out what they want to do is: “if you really want to work with children, consider all the types of fields you can go into, whether it be working with early years or older school age children – child and youth worker, social worker, autism and behavioural science, and so on.  This career is very challenging, mentally draining, it has its ups and downs, but it is all completely worth it when there is such a great positive outcome. This career is a learning process, and it’s different and exciting every day.” 

The “Kid” Kept Dreaming: A Chef’s Story

By Jesse Baker, WorkStory Ambassador at University of Windsor

Photo credit: Freeman LaFleur

Curtis Bell is one of those rare young people who decided what he wanted to do with his life shortly after it began. According to Bell, he knew he wanted to be a chef when he was about ten years old. He told his dad that he wanted to go to the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) by age twelve, to which his father responded: “keep dreaming kid.”

He did.

Bell’s main source of inspiration came from a chef at The Trinity Grille, a restaurant Bell frequented with his father when he was young, “The chef’s name was Micah, he was there for a really long time and always talked to me about food” Bell recalled. “He also happened to attend the CIA. I think I was also very inspired by my father and his home cooking, as well as taking me out to some impressive restaurants. I was a sponge, and he helped foster my passion.”

Photo credit: Freeman LaFleur

Bell attended the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, a school many consider it to be the best culinary school in the country. “I agree with that,” Bell remembered fondly. After earning his associate’s degree Bell decided not to pursue a bachelor’s degree. “My reasoning was that much of the education within my industry is found in the field, not a classroom. During the two years that my peers spent chasing their bachelor’s, I worked my way up in the industry. I was in a well-respected management position by the time they were graduating and entering the field. I think I got the better end of the deal.”

Photo credit: Freeman LaFleur

Curtis Bell wasted no time. The morning after graduation, he drove out to Montauk, NY, where he had a job waiting for him. “I worked at The Surf Lodge, where I worked into becoming something of a Chef Tournant, which meant I was knowledgeable about all stations and held a decent amount of responsibility. After a summer there, I came back to Denver because I had another job waiting for me [as a personal chef] as long as they liked me. I did a stage, and was offered a job at the end of the night. I was really glad that opportunity panned out.”

As a personal chef for an affluent couple in Denver and an entrepreneur working to build different companies all related to food, Bell describes himself as “almost sickly passionate person when it comes to food”.  He’s constantly working to try new things and learn more about the science and art of food.  Becoming a personal chef was never as aspiration. “Coming up in the industry, it’s not a job one thinks of as a reality, more like a fantasy,” Bell said. The opportunity totally fell in his lap, “and I ran with it”.  He was only 21 then, didn’t feel necessarily qualified, but went for it anyway and got the job. According to Bell that opportunity has opened a lot of doors for him and he is incredibly grateful for it. 

Overall, Bell thinks his success boils down to a few things: Luck, passion/ambition, great social skills and networking abilities, and general technical skills. “The industry is aggressively competitive, so it is absolutely vital you work on being the best you can in all the previously stated categories”.  Future goals include a business that would continue to allow Bell to work in many different culinary facets. The current dream is to get paid to travel in some way, and do something that makes a difference in people’s lives for the better. Bell said he thinks he’s on the right track so far.

Q&A with Curtis Bell:

Would you have done anything differently?

“I could have gone back to Cape Cod to where I did my internship and learned more than at any other job I have ever had. I could have stayed in New York after graduating and worked my way up in that vicious arena of restaurants. I could have stayed working as the Sous Chef of La Tour in Vail. Considering where I am today though, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. No regrets”

Talk about your recent trip to Vietnam and Phocomentary!

“Vietnam. What a trip! I went out there with my great friend Freeman LaFleur and his other half Josie. We had a serious goal in mind: to find the roots and true story of pho, as well as its progression to what we know of the dish today. What we experienced was far more than we expected, and I am forever changed by our journey. The culture and environment of Vietnam is so mind blowing. The people are almost too nice, and the way of life there is impressive.

Chaotic as hell, but they make everything work somehow. I could explain the trip more, but you would be better off watching the  Phocumentary which is  the reason I went to Vietnam. Freeman LaFleur is a very creative entrepreneur and quite talented with a camera. He invited me to be the film’s food expert and help him to find the true story of one of the world’s favorite noodle soups. The motivation to chase the story stems from Freeman and I enjoying pho all the way back when we first could drive and get down to the Little Saigon district of Denver, where we first went crazy for the stuff. Having recently lived near L.A, home of the largest concentration Vietnamese people outside of Vietnam, Freeman ate lots of pho, and realized that no one had tried to figure out where the dish came from. The idea was born as a joke, but became more serious as he found the story to be much more complex than first thought. When he asked me to be a part of the project in January of 2015, I jumped on board immediately. In May, we did a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the project. Although we were going to Vietnam whether it was a success or a failure, halfway through our trip in Vietnam, the campaign ended a success and our project was fully funded! … The film is now in the process of being put together. I am very happy with the story we found, and I think it will make for a great documentary.”

Talk about Rogue Food Works!

“Rogue Food Works is a fun little venture in Denver that my talented friend Dan Gullickson pulled me into. He had an idea to have an underground dinner club where there is only one rule: that we have fun! We have a big party once a month for anywhere from 10 to 40 people. The party usually consists of a crazy meal that is 5-12 courses and quite intricate. We have used it as a platform to experiment and foster relationships with not only the guests, but also local farms and ranches. The whole thing evolves a bit every month, and has been a lot of fun to be a part of.”

Advice for an aspiring Chef?

“I would tell any aspiring chef to ask him/herself how passionate they are about food. This is a very hard industry and you have to commit your life to it. Try not to pick up bad habits, work with a purpose, and never stop learning. Any seasoned chef can tell immediately if you are worth your salt, so you better take extreme pride in what you are doing, or you will be chewed up and spit out.”

Curtis Bell is patiently waiting for the edited version of the Phocumentary, which should be available before the end of 2015. If successful this project could be a launching pad for Bell’s ultimate goal of being paid to travel AND create beautiful edibles around the world!

Family, Fiddles and Flying with Tim Chaisson

By Annette Dawm, Workstory Ambassador 

Simply put, Tim Chaisson says that his job is “to write songs and tunes, then perform them in front of people!” but his talent and work schedule is quite complex. In fact, he responded to this interview request while on a plane to Vancouver, BC. At the time, he was heading out to play at some Canada Day festivities! Far from his home on Prince Edward Island, Tim says he loves “almost everything” about his job: “I love traveling, meeting people and most of all, being on stage almost every night.”

Chaisson is from one of Canada’s largest and most prominent musical families: “My family has influenced me so much”, says Tim. “My father is a piano and fiddle player, my brothers and sister were all musicians, and almost all of my first cousins (there's 55 of them!) could play an instrument, sing or dance. There was music all around me, so I consider myself so lucky to have had an abundance of music in my life from an early age. I started playing music when I was 6 years old. I started off with the fiddle then moved over to guitar, singing and song writing. The path involved a lot of practicing as well as performing wherever I could!” In both his touring band and Celtic group, The East Pointers, Tim is accompanied by one of his 55 cousins, Koady Chaisson, who is also a multi-instrumentalist.

As for Tim, he says “it’s hard to pick a favourite” instrument. “Since the fiddle was my first instrument and has such a family connection, I may pick that. I'm by no means a master at all—far from it—but I play fiddle, guitar, bass, mandolin, drums and piano.” With such a wide range of musical abilities, Tim’s music is able to fit into many genres like pop, country, and folk. This means that Tim has found himself amongst some incredibly diverse and amazing tour mates. He has performed with country acts like The Stellas (parents of Lennon and Maisy from the TV series, Nashville) and Johnny Reid. On the other side of the spectrum, he has also hit the road with rock acts like The Trews and The Goo Goo Dolls; all of which have a different sound and a different audience. When asked if he changes his set list based on who he tours with, Tim responded as follows:

“Great question! I love that I'm able to tour with such different acts, but sometimes you do have to change things a little bit here and there. For example, I toured with Johnny Reid solo, so I picked songs that work well when I'm on stage by myself. With the Goo Goo Dolls and The Trews, I had my full band so it was a bit louder – you have to keep up! The fans were different at each show, but what was really cool is that they're all music lovers, so I had a great time.”

Earlier this year, Tim released Lost in Light which was the follow up to The Other Side. Both albums were made possible by donations through Pledge Music, a crowdfunding website. In return for his fans’ generosity, Tim offered some amazing rewards, which made the experience more interactive for everyone involved. “I think getting to meet and interact with the Pledgers was the coolest part [about releasing the album via crowdfunding]. I'm still in the process of doing some house concerts and co-writing some [songs] and it's awesome. I've crowdfunded a few projects myself. It feels good to be a part of the album making process.”  For a few lucky people, Tim even acted as a tour guide of Charlottetown, complete with Anne of Green Gables’ hat and braids. (There’s a photo on Twitter!)

In 2011, Chaisson also acted as a guide on a greater scale when The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Prince William and Kate) visited the Island:  “I was the musical director for the event” Chaisson recalls. “Basically, I organized a few numbers that they watched that afternoon. I also performed.” Tim is very proud of Prince Edward Island and he continues to make the province proud as well. At the release party for Lost in Light, he performed for a sold-out crowd of almost 600 people, his biggest audience to date as a headliner!

Tim Chaisson understands that not everyone gets to do what he does, but it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try. According to Tim, “if you love playing music, keep doing it! I have a lot of friends who gave up on their dream of being a touring musician because they felt pressure to take a more conventional work path. If you have a passion for it, don't give up. Keep working at it, music is good for the soul!”

For more information, please visit www.timchaisson.com

You can also follow Tim on Twitter and like him on Facebook.  

Out of this World: How a York University grad helped put a probe on a distant comet

The late American astronaut Neil Armstrong changed the world when he became the first man to walk on the moon in 1969. The historical Apollo 11 moon landing has been described by Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian to walk in space in 2001, as a “watershed moment” that inspired him and many others who followed him to suit up for space.

Jakub Urbanek (BASC ’09) was not one of them. But like Armstrong and Hadfield, Urbanek’s share of awe-inspiring space adventure has been well documented around the world. He is part of a team that recently made history by successfully landing the first-ever robotic probe on a comet.

“It’s remote control,” Urbanek says. “We were sitting here in Germany sending up commands to the spacecraft.”

The Rosetta spacecraft, also known as Europe’s comet chaser, launched into space in March 2004 to track down Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, a relatively small object of about four kilometres in diameter and moving at a speed as great as 135,000 kilometres per hour. At that time, Urbanek was in high school and was not particularly interested in space. But that same year at a mini-orientation and campus tour at York University, he made an “unexpected decision” to study space engineering.

“I was hooked,” Urbanek recalls. “The program at York just seemed really interesting and novel.”

Fast-forward to 2014, Urbanek, an operations engineer with the flight control team at the European Space Agency (ESA), was in the main control room of the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany, tracking and operating Rosetta’s release of a probe lander named Philae and its descent to Comet 67P. Rosetta had been orbiting across the solar system for 10 years; each tele-communications message between the spacecraft and ground control takes 30 minutes to transmit. After a decade-long journey hundreds of millions of kilometres from Earth, the agency’s final manoeuvre on Nov. 12, 2014 to land Philae proved to be a thrilling moment in space study.

“It was incredibly emotional, exciting, and nerve-racking,” Urbanek says. “There were a few go-no-go situations during the 13 hours leading up to the separation of Philae from the mothership. It then took more than seven hours for Philae to touchdown on the comet, but the event went pretty smoothly.”

Philae’s primary mission was to last three days, during which the robot sent analysis of samplings from the comet to Rosetta, attempted to drill into the ground, and sent back images of the comet’s surface. With data Philae delivered, scientists have been analyzing to determine the composition and structure of Comet 67P, ultimately investigating the role it may have played in the beginnings of life on Earth.

“He did quite a bit of science during those three days,” Urbanek says of the lander. “It was action-packed.”

However, with its primary battery designed to last only about 60 hours, Philae, the size of a household washing machine, went into hibernation. It had bounced on landing and ended up in the shadow of a cliff in rough terrain. Its exact location is unknown. Without the solar power it needs to operate, Philae is expected to wake up and reestablish a communications link with Rosetta when the comet nears the sun in the spring. On Feb. 14, Rosetta performed a special flyby, passing within just six kilometres of the surface of the comet, but sighting Philae was not part of the event.

“The close flyby was not intentionally planned for Valentine’s Day, but it was a bit amusing,” Urbanek says. “Rosetta and Philae have been flying together for more than 10 years and they will never return to Earth. In a way, I suppose Philae is kind of like Rosetta’s child.”

After working with the Rosetta mission for the last 2.5 years, Urbanek, who has a master’s degree in aerospace studies from the University of Toronto and trained with ESA after graduation, can’t help but humanize Rosetta and Philae just a little bit.

“We monitor the spacecraft – we take care of Rosetta. We are responsible for it and we do build up a close connection with the robots, but it’s not quite a human connection,” Urbanek says. “But for some of my colleagues who have been working on this mission for the last 10 years, Rosetta and Philae are like their children.”

Asked if he would ever suit up for space like Armstrong and Hadfield did, Urbanek answers without hesitation, “If I was offered the opportunity, I wouldn’t say no.”

This article appeared in the Spring 2015 edition of York U, the magazine of York University. Reprinted with permission.

Overcoming Isolation through Art: Heather’s Story

By Annette Dawm, WorkStory Ambassador

Heather Wodhams is a part-time retail employee with a full-time passion for art and photography. “When it comes to art,” explains Heather, “nothing about it feels like a job!  It is my essence and something that brings me so much fulfillment.”

“Art and photography are an outlet for me, a way of expressing who I am as a person and what I believe in without having to really explain myself. It is a way of reaching out to the world to see how people from all walks of life respond to me and my creations.  In this way, even though I would categorize myself as an introvert, I am still able to relate to the world and feel connected so that I don’t feel isolated.”

Heather was born in Georgetown and raised in Tara, Ontario with “an incredibly active imagination”. She has always had a love for reading fiction and being out in nature, which is often reflected in her work today: “I believed, and still do, that all life is precious and that there is importance and strength even in the smallest things, maybe because I’m so small myself!  I realized that I could help other people see what I saw by recreating or documenting things that inspired me.... It becomes quite obvious from looking at my work that nature is a prevalent and recurring theme in anything that I do.  It is ever-changing and provides endless inspiration.”

Nature is something that Heather has become quite at ease with, but that doesn’t mean she is a one-trick pony. Wodhams has created a diverse body of work using a variety of methods including, but not limited to: photography, collages, painting, illustrations, digital art and more. She is always willing to work outside of her comfort zone and to try something new:

“In recent months, I have started photographing people and families, something entirely new and challenging to me.  But I don’t limit myself to any one subject-- the same way I don’t constrain myself to any one medium.  People make requests for things I’ve never done, most recently photographing cars, and I love the challenge!  Still, lately I do have an affinity for watercolour, ink, and of course any type of photography.... I work in a variety of mediums because I never want to become complacent, or comfortable with what I am doing.  There is a vulnerability and an excitement that comes from working with a material that you haven’t yet mastered.  For me, art is not about flaunting my abilities. It’s about constantly learning and growing.“

 Although being an artist can be a solitary occupation, Heather is open to collaborations. One of her earliest collaborations was in Grade 12 at Chesley District High School (now Chesley District Community School) where, at the time, the entire student body consisted of  only 300 people. Heather was chosen to create a mural that would be on display in one of the school’s hallways. She painted the Chesley Cougar mascot in front of several yellow and black bricks. Then each brick was filled in with a unique design created by the equally unique individuals in Heather’s graduating class. She recalls the experience as follows:

“Back at CDHS, I felt so strongly that the school was very special in that we were a tight-knit group of students.  So when I had the opportunity to create the mural I knew I wanted it to represent the students and the bond we shared, to be a lasting tribute to the positive aspects of high school. I absolutely loved to see the people filling in their own section of brick on the mural, because they were the building blocks of the school community and it helped to show their diversity and individualism.  I was warned that vandalism may happen to the piece later on and I thought ‘well, if I give these students the opportunity to be a part of this mural they will be much less likely to want to deface something they helped create’.  It was a way of working with my peers instead of isolating myself from them.”

Today, Heather continues to collaborate through commissioning her work, which gives her the chance to create something that she would not have necessarily thought of on her own. She has a connected with others from around the world through her Facebook page and  Instagram account which allow her to display and sell her work without being in “a traditional gallery setting”.

Even though she excels at what she does, Heather’s journey into the art world has not always been easy and has taken some unexpected turns. Before working with a variety of mediums, Wodhams mostly focussed on painting in college. This ended up depleting her creativity instead of increasing it. She admits that she was at a point where she didn’t paint for “over a year” after she graduated from Fanshawe. However, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing because it opened her eyes to other creative and work-related opportunities:

“After high school I made the difficult decision of going to post-secondary to study art.  It made sense to my friends and family, but to me there was always a fear a failure, and of coming out the other side with nothing but debt and a useless diploma.  I graduated in 2010 from the Fanshawe Fine Arts program and immediately got a job at Fotoart (a camera and photography store).  From there my passion for photography grew exponentially. I was then offered a job at Lens Rentals Canada (LRC) and jumped at the opportunity to connect with photographers from all across Canada, and to use gear that I could have normally only dreamed of using.  These jobs helped me gain a confidence and a drive to want to be my own boss, focus on my own business and see if I could apply the things I learned to my career as a freelance artist.  So with some hesitancy, I left LRC in October 2014 to start my own venture, which of course leads us to the here and now!”

Currently, Wodhams’ struggles with art are more positive because her mind is now over-run with ideas and it is difficult “to bring them all to reality!” For Heather, each new idea leads to another, “so that the thrill of a new creation never fades.” In the future, she would like to continue learning the video editing process as well as working with stained glass and jewelry-making!

In the words of the beloved “Ms. Frizzle” from The Magic School Bus, Heather Wodhams would advise her younger-self to “Take chances, make mistakes and get messy.” She emphasizes, “If there is one thing I could tell my young artist-self, it would be to not feel pressure from anyone to alter the way you create art.  We all have our own process and even though some may not understand yours, the important thing is that you do.  Even if you can’t explain why you create, there is an instinct within you that leads you in completing a piece. Trying to fit yourself into a mold of what an artist is will quickly drain any joy and passion you had for art.  Trust your instincts....  After all, art can be an incredibly personal and intimate creation, and to others it is simply a whimsical outlet, so just try to maintain a truth with yourself and that way no matter what anyone thinks, you will feel confident in your work knowing that you love it.”

Melissa Appleton: A Career in Conflict Resolution

By Emma Kushnir, WorkStory Ambassador

When Melissa Appleton took the “What colour is my parachute?” quiz in school, it always told her to become a lawyer, social worker or psychologist, but she knew those traditional jobs were not the right fit. Thus she entered McMaster University’s interdisciplinary Arts and Science Program with no idea of what to do with her life. Soon she discovered all the electives she had picked and enjoyed were under the Peace Studies umbrella. This was partially influenced by the fact that she lived in Israel for a year after high school. She graduated from McMaster University with an honours degree in Peace Studies and planned to work internationally in the Balkans (a region in Southeast Europe) with a local NGO, which produced social educational theatre for young people. Through the experience she learned that international development was still not the right fit for her, but also realized she needed more concrete skills. Melissa continued her graduate education at Columbia University for Peace Education, oriented towards practice with a focus on conflict resolution.

In 2008, Melissa started working at a local mediation organization, the New York Peace Institute, in Brooklyn, New York. The New York Peace Institute is one of the largest community mediation organizations in the United States. Through state and city funding, the organization offers free mediation and conflict resolution services to the New York City community. Mediation is defined by the New York Peace Institute’s website as “a conversation between two or more people, led by a trained, neutral mediator, and is a less expensive, time-saving alternative to court”. They allow people to settle their differences, to get what they need or even to just be heard, for a myriad of different reasons. Melissa started there as the Outreach Coordinator, but now acts as the Program Manager.  As the program manager, she “focuses on building and maintaining referral relationships, and increasing use of the services through the development of programs to meet the needs of the community”.

She explains her inspiration was from her upbringing. She was very involved in the social justice-oriented Jewish youth movement as a child, which largely impacted her life by introducing her to “isms” such as racism and sexism at an early age. This not only got her care about the world and other people, but also started her love of conflict resolution, and the facilitation and training of it. Melissa enlightens, “I didn’t go into school intending to work in mediation or conflict resolution… I was honestly unaware of the option, but given my sensibility and interests, it makes perfect sense that I landed in this field.”

When asked about why she loves her job, she replied “mediation is [a] very rewarding and engaging occupation for me. I am continuously challenged to grow, to learn, and to improve my practice. With my clients it’s a privilege to support and witness people making transformative decisions, and moving forward in ways that make their lives better”.  Melissa explains that on her path there was,  of course,  the challenges that people face when their career falls outside of traditional career options, but the hardest part was really just finding the right job.

Melissa’s advice for people figuring out what they want to do is “talk to people, LOTS of people, people you know and people you don’t, and ask them about how they figured it out, and what lessons they learned from their experiences. Don’t limit yourself to the easy options, the ones that have their own professional degrees in school.  And stand firm against people who pressure you into these standard careers. There are so many different ways to make a living. Some of them just require some extra creativity, willingness to work hard, and comfort with the uncertainty of how things will turn out. Do internships at places you find intriguing. By volunteering, you get to see what the day-to-day reality actually looks like. Internships are also a tremendous networking tool, do good work and people will want to help you moving forward.”

To learn more about mediation and the New York Peace Institute visit http://nypeace.org

“Cheerleaders in Nearly Every Corner”: Tito’s Story

By Katie Chalmers-Brooks

Photo by: Nardella Photography

Growing up, Tito Daodu could have easily gotten stuck in a rut by focusing on what she didn’t have: much money or a sense of safety in the rough Winnipeg neighbourhood she called home. Getting dressed in the morning meant being mindful not to wear gang colours.  She had to make sure she walked back quickly to her apartment after school. She was well versed in her classmates’ personal connections to the stories on the six o’clock news—‘the guy arrested for a stabbing was so-and-so’s cousin.’ “All of those things felt close to home,” says Daodu.

So too did everything the 28-year-old doctor feels helped her to succeed. Daodu likens herself to a lottery winner—lucky because she had cheerleaders in nearly every corner. “I had a lot of people in my life who said I could achieve whatever I wanted.” She didn’t see getting into trouble as an option; her Nigerian-born mother made sure of that. Her mom’s voice would override those of her school chums, many of whom saw a trip to Juvenile Detention as a rite of passage. Daodu had bigger plans. And she had mentor Ken Opaleke at West Broadway Youth Outreach to help her on her path. She was in Grade 3 when Opaleke called out to her and her sister, Dupe, from across the street, inviting them to join the neighbourhood’s after-school club. Daodu did and has never really left. “I have had the pleasure of seeing her grow from a shy, energetic, nine year- old participant in the program to a now caring, selfless young woman who a great number of inner-city children have come to emulate and rely on, not only for academic and physical guidance but on a personal level as well,” says Opaleke.

Daodu went from mentee to mentor and launched a homework club at the centre, forming meaningful connections to kids as she helped them through mundane school assignments. Daodu says she would be hard on the kids when they didn’t “try to achieve”, just as Opaleke was hard on her. Daodu went to St. Mary’s Academy on bursaries, steadily inching her way toward university. When she earned her degree in medicine from the University of Manitoba in 2013, more than a dozen West Broadway kids showed up at convocation, rooting for “doctor number 2.” (Daodu is the second West Broadway ‘graduate’ to become a physician.) “Quite a few of them have said, ‘I want to be doctor number 5 or I’m going to be doctor number 7,” says Daodu. “When I go back I try to instill in them that this is totally achievable. I look at those kids and I think ‘I was exactly that kid.’” She is now doing her residency in general surgery in Calgary while chipping away at a master’s in international surgical care.

To Daodu, it makes perfect sense to seek out a problem and then try to be part of the solution. As a med student, she made a cold call to a researcher featured in a documentary about the shockingly high number of pneumonia deaths among children in Nigeria, her native country. “It was staggering to me that 200,000 children under age five die of pneumonia every year. In Canada, it would be unheard of for a child to die of pneumonia without any other complications,” she says. Daodu asked the researcher if she could come to Nigeria and help; he obliged. The hospital featured in the film happened to be the one where Daodu was born. She was just four when her mom left the country, which was then under a dictatorship, with her and her sister. (They lived in Jamaica and England before settling for good in Winnipeg, where Daodu’s uncle could be their sponsor. Her father joined them years later.)

The state of care at the Nigerian hospital shocked Daodu. In the first week, she witnessed the deaths of six children from conditions that could have easily been treated in North America: pneumonia, tetanus and malaria. “I had no idea what widespread, systematic poverty looked like on the ground,” she says. Minimum wage there is a paltry 100 dollars a month yet patients are required to buy their own medical supplies. Daodu dipped into her own wallet to stock up on syringes, gloves and needles. If a child needed a transfusion it was up to the parents to coax family and friends to donate blood. If there was a power outage, test results were simply unavailable.  Doctors there have the knowledge, Daodu explains, but no resources. She was there to investigate oxygen treatments for kids with pneumonia, specifically machines that convert ambient air into oxygen, a less expensive alternative to oxygen tanks. It took her a month and a half to get a backup generator in the room so they would work in a power outage, a routine occurrence.  Her frustration grew when she realized a separate, private ward within the same hospital was well-stocked for patients who could afford it.

The experience reinforced Daodu’s desire to help improve health-care systems in developing countries. She wants to work on international surgical education projects in impoverished regions to ensure first responders are properly trained in basic, life-saving procedures like inserting chest tubes. The World Health Organization identified surgical care among the globe’s top five pressing healthcare needs. The reality is: simple surgeries are getting missed and the consequences can be personally devastating. A patient with something as minor as a hernia—left surgically untreated—might go decades unable to work and be shunned by his community, Daodu notes. She also wants to offer her surgical skills in disaster zones. This fall, she is headed to Haiti, a country still shattered by 2010’s 7.0 magnitude earthquake. “As a surgeon, you really have an ability to make an impact,” she says. Daodu knows it takes leadership to act on these kinds of opportunities. She defines a good leader as someone who is “willing to take in and adapt to the changes that are presented along the way, without giving up.” It’s a philosophy that’s guided her throughout her life and, she’s happy to say, some of the kids from her old neighbourhood too. While studying in University Centre one day, Daodu bumped into a former participant of her West Broadway homework buddies group. Daodu had lost touch with the girl when she stopped coming to the centre as a teen so was thrilled to see she made it to university. The student had faced, and clearly overcome, a lot of the same challenges Daodu did. “It was pretty exciting to see that she had continued on and was doing well,” Daodu says. “It was awesome.”

This story, reprinted with permission of the University of Manitoba, originally appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of On Manitoba. Tito Daodu, a 2013 University of Manitoba grad (MD; BSc[Med]), was honored recently as one of the university’s Outstanding Young Alumni.

From Faber Drive to Abbey Road: Andrew Stricko’s Story

By Annette Dawm, WorkStory Ambassador

Widely known across Canada by his last name and for being Hello Operator and Faber Drive’s drummer, Andrew Stricko has returned to music with a new band, Kids in Despair (K.I.D). Fresh off the “I Still Live with My Mom Tour” in the United Kingdom, Stricko has discovered he has fans world-wide! He also found out what it was like to walk across one of the most famous roads in music history!

“Aside from music,” says Andrew, “I have a retail job that I do between shows/tours when I have some time off from the band life. It's not 'glamorous' or whatever, but it keeps things interesting and a roof over my head!” he laughs. “To be honest, I don't spend as much time practicing drums or thinking about them that I should. Obviously I love drumming and everything about it, but now that I'm in my late 20s, responsibilities and free time are a thing. I try to do as much music as I can between 'taking care of business'!”

Sometimes Andrew’s retail and music worlds collide as K.ID’s music is often played on the radio while he is working. He loves both jobs, especially when people sing along, whether it’s at a concert or along with the radio: “I love meeting new people. I've become a lot more outgoing since I started touring in my late teens, so that's the number one thing I like about touring or working a day job, whatever it may be.”

In terms of his musical influences, Andrew credits his parents for taking him to “concerts, choir rehearsals” and “anything musical” from an early age. According to Stricko, both of his parents are also very talented: “My father was a professional keyboardist/synth player, and he can shred the accordion really well! My mom is amazing at piano and can sing in ways I wish I could!”

Like many other young people before him, Andrew was also inspired by The Beatles: “I knew that I wanted to be a 'professional' musician pretty much my entire life. I remember the first time I saw a Beatles cover band at the ‘Festival of Lights’ in my hometown of Peterborough.... I wanted to be on stage. It's funny and crazy to think that over 20 years later I headlined the closing night of that festival with Faber Drive.” Crazier still, Andrew has now travelled with his new band to Abbey Road and its recording studio namesake, which have become some of his most memorable moments as a fan and a musician, but that’s not all:

“I feel I've had an unrealistic number of memorable moments when it comes to me and music,” says Stricko, “but if I had to pick, I'd say the first time I saw Sum 41 play in 2003 at ‘Ottawa Bluesfest’. The most memorable moment to date touring is tough, but I'll share this one: I just started playing with this new band named K.I.D. and we just got home from a UK tour.... The first night of the tour we opened for Bleachers (including members of Fun.) at Dingwalls in London (look it up!). The venue has an insane history and playing with Bleachers was destined to be amazing. The show was packed and there were kids in the crowd singing our songs as we were playing them! Never in my life did I really think I'd be across the world and people would know who my band was, it's insane!”

Andrew has achieved a lot in a short amount of time. Around the age of 19, he met the members of British Columbia’s award-winning band, Faber Drive, and he soon became their drummer: “I was playing with this band from Toronto, Hello Operator. We ended up on Faber's ‘Seven Second Tour’, became pals and the rest is as they say history.”

After more than five years on tour with both bands, Stricko began to feel “burnt out” and took a much needed break from the music industry, but drumming still remained a part of his life: “After I left Faber Drive, I had a couple jobs, but I was mostly teaching drum lessons in my hometown at the same store I took lessons from as a kid. It was very rewarding and nice to give back in a sense. I want nothing more than to help someone realize that they can do this too! Accomplishing your dreams IS possible and you shouldn't stop for anything or anyone.”

Along with teaching drums, Andrew “spent almost two years working random crappy jobs”. He recalls that he “definitely needed to reset” himself and find the “passion” and “fire” he had for music once again in order to continue accomplishing his own dreams. Stricko “snapped out of the funk” he was in when his friend, Miles Holmwood of the band, Stereos introduced him to Kids in Despair: “[He] was raving about them telling me how I should play their drummer in their music video etc. I got in touch with the band and we hit it off. I auditioned for them along with my friend Adam [Dugas], who played bass in The Envy and our lucky stars aligned! I've never been happier to be playing music than I am now.”

When asked about his advice for others, Andrew Stricko responded with the following: “If I could offer any advice to anyone who wants to do what I do, what another band does or whatever the thing, BE YOURSELF! Work hard, put in the hours, learn your instrument well, write lots of songs because practice makes perfect. Take it seriously, but have fun! I never thought when I was watching the tribute version of Ringo Starr that twenty-something years later, I'd be walking across Abbey Road myself on a day off during a tour. Crazier things have happened! Believe in yourself!”

To see more pictures from Andrew’s experience in the UK, you can follow him on Instagram.

For more information on K.I.D. please visit www.kidsindespair.com.

Big Screen Brothers

By Janis Wallace

Hollywood has plenty of examples of successful brothers – Joel and Ethan Coen, Beau and Jeff Bridges, heck, there’s even four Baldwin brothers. Now, Western can add two of its own to that list – Wayne and Scott Lemmer.

“When we were kids, there was no indication we would both end up in film,” Scott said. “Working in the entertainment industry was always sort of a fantasy with no tangible path of getting there. It was certainly nothing I thought would happen to us so quickly.”

However, that is exactly where they landed.

Today, Scott, BA’01 (Visual Arts), is an animator who has worked for Dreamworks, Disney and Pixar. He counts among his credits a shelf full of parent must-haves including Rio, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Turbo, The Croods and Ice Age: Dawn of Dinosaurs.

Wayne, BMusA’02, is a sound editor and re- recording mixer. His credits include Oscar- winning films like The Grand Budapest Hotel and Black Swan, as well as blockbuster fare like Transformers, X-Men: First Class, Monsters vs. Aliens and Kick-Ass 2.

The Ilderton, Ont. brothers were raised by parents who supported their creativity, especially their mom, Dawn, an elementary school music teacher and gifted musician.

“They encouraged us to play music, draw, paint and build stuff out of whatever was around the house,” Scott said. “I also really enjoyed the magic of cartoons and animation, but I never imagined there were actual jobs creating that stuff.”

 “I think there was little doubt about what I wanted to study in university,” Wayne said. “Music was my biggest passion.”

At Western, Scott enrolled in Computer Science, but switched to Visual Arts in second year.

“I was in a pilot class for animation,” he said. “It was a basic introduction to technique and history and it was super interesting. I took a class in 3D software with a friend and enjoyed it. So, I focused on that during my last year.”

After Western, Scott studied at the Vancouver Film School. His first job took him to Dallas. A series of studios and films followed. He’s been with Dreamworks for more than two years, and lives five minutes from the studio with his wife and toddler twins.

The final year of university was transformative for Wayne, who, until then, thought he would be a performer.

“I took a course in composing digital music,” he said. “I was assigned to go out into the world and record non-musical elements, take them back to the studio and create a musical soundscape. I spent long nights struggling to make something cool and musical. But I loved every second – time just seemed to slip by effortlessly. I think after that I knew I was hooked on working in the studio.”

Wayne attended the Ontario Institute of Audio Recording Technology (OIART) and focused on sound for film. “It just grabbed me. It engulfed my life. It was an exciting new venue for me to create and perform art.”

As a sound editor, Wayne watches the rough cut of the film, making notes on the story and what will need to be recorded. Like his student assignment, he then goes out in the world and records sounds to manipulate in the studio. “Guns and cars are a good example of things that exist in the world,” he explained. “However, giant robots and T-Rex’s do not. That’s where you can really have fun creating something new and interesting.”

 When he switches to re-recording mixer role, he finalizes the soundtrack. “I think it’s best explained as ‘performance art.’ That’s when the dialogue, music and effects all come together on the stage. This is where careful choices are made to enhance the film. You can really focus on the track and work with the director to bring his vision to life.”

As an animator, Scott tracks motion on screen.

“You want to replicate the performance that honours the actors. That is a tough thing,” he said. “It’s like ‘digital puppeteering.’ It’s similar to old 2D, frame-by-frame poses and refining the action. You see the character come to life. It’s surprisingly rewarding, this feeling of completion when you see what you’ve created.”

In the early years of his career, Scott said it was a bit of a novelty. “At first it was cool to see the names (of actors) but after a few times it’s more about the shot. You’re working on making it look good. The animation has to look good, be appealing and move well, and show the acting, meaning and intent of the shot.” For Wayne, the challenge/reward is in telling the story. “There is so much technology, detail and complexity in what we do. Sound is one of many crafts required to make a film. They all should have one goal, and that is to emotionally support the film and help tell its story. A film comes to life when you add sound."

This article appeared in the Spring 2015 edition of Western University’s Alumni Gazette.  Reprinted with permission. 

A Designated Lobster Buyer: Holly’s Cold (But Cool!) Story

"How cold?"
“Like three pair of pants, four sweaters and a winter jacket kind of cold,” said a smiling Holly Faulkner, who had just unloaded her first lobster boat of the day early Monday afternoon.    

One of a handful of designated lobster buyers here at Big Bras d’Or’s Factory Wharf, the 22-year-old has faced the elements head-on since lobster fishing season opened here in mid-May. 

Her job description includes hauling a few thousand pounds of lobster, six days a week. She has not missed a day of work.

About a year ago, after graduating from with a degree hospitality and tourism management from Cape Breton University Holly began a job many of us know little about.  Andrew Rankin shares more of her story here. 

Look What They Have Become: Jamara and Darryl’s Film Making Journey

As told by Jamara Forbes & Darryl Ayles to Annette Dawm, WorkStory Ambassador

 Darryl Ayles is rarely seen without Jamara Forbes and his orange hat. Put all three together and you have Orange Hat Film Productions, an independent film company based out of London, Ontario. Recent grads of Fanshawe College’s Advanced Filmmaking Program, Jamara and Darryl are working on their biggest project yet: Look What You Have Become, a novel and a mini-series and they want you to be a part of it!

What is your job?

 Jamara: I currently work retail during the weekdays and on weekends I lead my second life as production manager, writer and director at Orange Hat Film Productions (OHFP). 

Darryl: I am basically just working on Orange Hat business as my full-time job. So I’ve been working behind the scenes day to day, keeping everything up to date. I’m also the Director of Photography and part-time Director for our upcoming project.

 What do you love about filmmaking?

Jamara: I think what I love most is the camaraderie that grows when working in small crews, independently. More recently, I have found the writing/producer role to be extremely satisfying. There is something so incredible about watching [the] characters you’ve developed literally come to life and tell your story.

Darryl: Honestly, I really think being there every step of the way, from when my idea is just a pipe dream to when I see it projected in front of a crowd, that’s the best part.

What path did you take to get where you are?

 Jamara: Fresh out of high school, I applied to Music Industry Arts at Fanshawe College to pursue my love of editing/mixing music. After being waitlisted, I figured film editing would be the next best thing. I could incorporate all that I wanted to with music only with a video track on top. I fell in love with film noir, theory and filming and never looked back.

Darryl:  Well, it all began back in grade 10, when I believed – as any child does – that they are destined to be the lead actor of every film ever. After discovering that I had no acting talent, I began to work behind the curtain. There, I received what I would like to call a college-level education in theatrical lighting and sound. After many years, and many friends, I decided to continue the path and apply for college. That’s when I chose Film Studies as a backup. Although my backup may not have been my first choice, it ended up being the right one. After only a few classes, I knew that I wanted to be behind the camera-- and on top of it all, that I wanted to be in charge. After completing Film Studies, I entered and completed Advanced Filmmaking, (AFM) which has been one of my biggest accomplishments to date. Finally, through a classmate, I started helping on an independent film based out of London called Theories and I was able to make a lot of connections. Not only with a lot of actors that ended up in the mini series, but with a couple producers, Mike Tyrrell and Dayna Pearce who have been a huge help as we move forward in production.

How did Orange Hat Film Productions start?

Jamara: OHFP started officially the day of last year’s Advanced Filmmaking “First Take Film Festival”…. we were no longer confined by project outlines and creative constraint from profs or peers. Our first OHFP short film was Conscious, which we filmed in three days on our own time. After AFM taught us the filmmaking formula and steps to follow, we’ve easily adapted this style to all our following projects.

What makes the two of you a great team?

Jamara: We make a great team because of the time we’ve spent learning the same material. We are able to communicate with fluidity about paperwork, production, and post-production. We speak the same language thanks to the three years we spent with wonderful Fanshawe College profs who drilled everything into our heads….

Darryl: We started dating one year before Orange Hat was established and our great communication and love for cinema just fit. Together, we tag team every process and trade off when the going gets tough.

 How did you come up with the Look What You Have Become mini-series and book?

Jamara: We graduated August 26, 2014, and the first version of our script was finished September 17th. We had a blast during the last semester of school filming four short films with friends. The loss of school really gave us a kick in the pants to keep the constant flow of filmmaking going strong. After Darryl wrote the outline we each took turns writing the screenplay and three seasons later, we’re still writing and developing. Adapting the screenplay into a novel started as my side-project, but soon [it] showed more potential than we anticipated. It turned out that film—being a visual language—translated effortlessly into novel format and the voice of Shadow Sellers, [the main character] is quite a strong one.

Darryl: ….I didn’t really feel the need or urge to film anything any time soon…. About three weeks [after graduation], the urge set in and I found myself coming up with crazy concepts for storytelling…. I had developed a backwards-style story and the basic concepts of how I wanted to write, film and release it. 

Why did you choose to shoot the mini-series in black and white?

Darryl: Well, it was not an easy decision by any means. I had a meeting with our producer, Mike Tyrrell a couple months before going to shoot and we talked about all the pros and cons of shooting it in black and white. Soon enough, the pros were heavily outweighing the cons, and by the end of the meeting, I was more than confident in solidifying my decision. Some of the main reasons we stuck with the choice were to save time and money, especially in post production. The camera we chose to use allows us [to create] small file sizes, making our episode turnaround time shrink dramatically. This would all not be possible working with the cinema standards of today….  Instead [we’ve] created a … project that will be perfect for viewing on anything from a mobile device to a home theatre. Above all else, I like to think, “What if we were doing this exact project ten or fifteen years ago before digital was acceptable?”… Without a big production company backing us, 35mm film (theatre standard) would not be an option, and to complete a demanding mini-series on a low budget, there would only really be one choice: 16mm, black and white [film]. I like to believe that our 16:9 1080p files are a perfect digital substitute for the size and feel of 16mm [black and white film].

 What are you most excited about with Look What You Have Become and where can we see the mini-series when it’s complete?

Jamara: I’m most excited about our plan to screen all seasons in succession at London’s Hyland Cinema Theatre. I think it’s a wonderful idea and when the time finally comes, I can’t wait to sit back and watch our story come to the big screen!

Darryl: I’m honestly just most excited to receive a response—not only from the novel, but episodically, every single week and be able to pinpoint where we succeeded and where we failed in a more specific way than ever before. One risk in particular is that we are shooting everything in black and white. I’m a little nervous about how it will look from time to time, but I have faith it will turn out in the end. In addition, I’m so excited to break away from short films and music videos, because taking on a project of this size is kind of like my final test to know that I can handle the responsibility of directing a full-length film in the near future.

Jamara: When we complete this project it will be released episodically online, either on YouTube or Vimeo. I mean, the dream for us right now is Netflix, but there’s nothing wrong with dreaming big!

 Darryl:  ...I think that it’s a matter of people seeing this material regardless if they’re paying or not. That’s why I think the YouTube approach is the smartest for our mini-series.

 Where is the mini-series being filmed and how can people get involved?

Jamara: The majority of filming will take place in London, Ontario with a few days for out of town shooting. Please, please, please get involved! Submit to us any artwork, music, graphic designs and we would be honored to feature your works in an episode or more! My main goal was to make this project a collaborative effort from all my friends, peers, associates, and neighbours. We want our story to speak to you in a familiar voice.

Darryl: If you are interested in being a camera assistant, PA, gaffer, stills photographer, or script supervisor, we could always use an extra helping hand on set. We have a great team right now but sometimes an extra hand is needed. Please email us at orangehatfilmproduction@gmail.com. We would love to get in touch.

 To learn more about Jamara & Darryl’s work have a look here and here. 

A Clinical Counsellor’s Perspective: Lanie’s Story

By Emma Kushnir, WorkStory Ambassador

Lanie Schachter-Snipper’s adventure in life and academics has been vast and amazing. After finishing her undergraduate degree from McGill University in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, she took a huge break doing various jobs ranging from teaching first grade in Honduras to running a cultural art tour business in Cuba. She then went back to school at the City University of Seattle for a Master’s degree in Clinical Counselling and Psychology, and finally to Yale School of Medicine to complete a fellowship in the Forensic Drug Diversion Program.

Now settled with a family in Toronto, Lanie is working as a full time clinical counselor for Shepell.fgi providing assessment and crisis intervention for employee assistance.  But her real baby is a non-profit organization Upfront Counselling and Management that she and a criminal defense lawyer founded in 2014. The organization provides psychological support for court-involved individuals who are charged with crimes involving aggression, with a primary focus on domestic abuse and substance abuse.  Offenders are referred by their lawyer, and partake in individual or group counseling that is therapeutic in nature, which is different than other organizations that exist in Toronto.

When asked why she got into the profession of psychology especially after so much different work, she answered that “from a young age I was always interested in deviance, people who broke the law, and crime in general.” As for the making the decision to do a masters program in psychology, she divulged that she applied to many different types of masters and international programs because she knew she needed to do something and was interested in a lot. She explains “in my case it really worked out and my work is really rewarding. I can’t imagine doing anything else, but it is very challenging and draining, and can be overwhelming.”

 Speaking about the many challenges that comes with the job, she explained that boundaries are hard, “I am fairly good at having a challenging work day and not spending a ton of time thinking about it, so having good self care and maintaining healthy boundaries is very important.” She also clarified that you must set realistic clinical expectations “you have to be realistic of what you can accomplish with people such as those who are living in poverty. One of the hardest things is knowing there are limits to which you can help people.”

Though with the challenging, comes the rewarding. She explained that “everyday I work, I get some feedback that the time I have spent talking to a client has been positive in some way. Whether there is an opportunity to vent or validating feelings, on a daily basis, even if it is subtle, I see the work I’m doing is meaningful to someone. There are moments today at the very least, this person isn’t going to kill themselves. Plus there is always new stuff coming up like new protocols and approaches, which makes it not the very least boring.”

As for people who are interested in this line of work her advice is: “you have to understand how complex people are, no matter how much learning you will do, every single person is unique and needs special attention. In this field you need a certain amount of stamina, energy, and a lot of compassion.” For others seeking out what to do, Lanie offered the advice: “Don’t rush. It can be easy to hurry into things because careers are appealing, but the importance of the in-between gets lost, and it’s an important time. I took so long to figure out what I wanted to do. Meet people travelling, work in different places and environments. Explore and be curious, and learn as much as you can about the wider world and your community. The more experiences you have, the better you will be in any job.”

Contact Lenses: More than better vision!

Harry Gandhi is a recent grad from University of Waterloo’s  Biotechnology/Economics program.  With an interest in the link between health and technology and the support of the UW’s Velocity  program he co-founded Medella Health .  

The goal?  To develop contact lens that help diabetics by monitoring glucose levels and sending the info to a mobile device…a healthcare wearable.

Read on as Douglas Soltys and Peter Kenter share more of this inspiring health startup’s story!

Race Car Driver Keeps It 'All in the Family' On and Off the Tracks

By Annette Dawm, WorkStory Ambassador

Joshua “Josh” Stade works as an Estimator and Project Manager for his family owned and operated business, MEI Paving, in his hometown of Chesley, Ontario. In addition, once the racing season begins, Josh can also be seen behind the wheel of #17 on race tracks across the province! At work for Josh, no two days are the same. He loves working with different personnel each day and going through a variety of tasks such as “pricing a job or running equipment. [It’s] not usually the same day to day.”

One constant in Josh’s life is that his family is always by his side and fully supports him, whether it is at work, or throughout his racing career, which he sees as a “hobby”. Josh says that his family has played “a huge role” in his professional life: “They have taught me everything I need to know. There are many things to owning your own business, [like] saving money, pricing jobs, [and] managing staff and money.” The Stade family are a team in every sense of the word and Josh still learns from them every day. Racing late models may be a hobby for them, but there is still a lot of work that goes into this passion, and every member of the Stade family is involved (along with some of their closest friends). As part of “Stade Motorsports”, Josh is the team driver and his dad, Duane is one of the crew chiefs. His mom, Theressa is the main photographer and videographer. Josh’s older sister, Vanessa, as well as his girlfriend, Bailey (pictured with Josh) work together on marketing and promotions while the youngest Stade sibling, Jodie manages prizes and giveaways!

Not every family is as closely knit as the Stade’s, but Josh wishes for more parents to be supportive of their kids when it comes to activities that interest them: “If you can support your kids’ dreams and goals, and they’re willing to work hard for something, [you] should at least give them a chance. My parents got us involved with racing to keep us off the streets and as a result, it has me doing hands-on experience [which helps] me every day. [It’s] as simple as fixing your own personal vehicle. There is more than one benefit to what I have learned throughout my racing. I have had a ton of great driving practice and awareness as well. Parents need to get more involved in their kids’ lives. Too many kids are hanging out on streets, so if they’re willing to work hard for something, support them as much as you can.”

Also in terms of family, Josh has followed in his father’s footsteps by studying Civil Engineering at Georgian College. Additionally, he has also found a family setting on the race tracks: “My favourite tracks are Sunset Speedway and Sauble Speedway” says Josh, because both venues have a “welcoming atmosphere with lots of friends! It brings the racing community together like one, big family—from racing to camping. It's more than being on the track, it's the social aspect as well.”

Josh has won many awards over the years, including “Rookie of the Year” in 2009 and “Most Improved Driver” in 2010, 2011 and 2014. Stade states that his progress “has been all learning curves. My team and I improve more and more each year, and it’s very pleasing to see great results as you grow in the racing sport.”

In the future, Josh would like to give back to his team and his community by winning a championship, but even now, he has reason to celebrate. On May 2, 2015, Stade had his most rewarding experience as a driver so far: “[It was] my first opening travel feature win down at Sunset Speedway. It was big for me because we worked very hard to accomplish that checkered flag and there were 31 race cars on opening night.... Sunset Speedway had just become a NASCAR sanctioned race track, so it was a huge success to go against the best drivers in Ontario and win!”

For anyone out there who has a dream they wish to pursue, Josh Stade offers the following advice: “If you have a dream, you have to chase it. It never comes easy, but that's my lifestyle. Family business and racing is all I do. I spend it alongside great friends and family and work hard for what I want. So, if you have a dream or goal, you have to work hard for it and not let anyone hold you back, because in the end it's going to make you happy and the hard work will pay off!”

To learn more about Josh and his team, click here.

Krysia Bussiere: Designing Woman

By Jennifer Ammoscato

 As an architect, Krysia Bussiere BA ’12 doesn’t want to just build buildings.

She wants to help build community.

 “Architects can affect change on both a social and a physical level,” The UWindsor grad says of her work at the Detroit, Mich., architectural firm, Hamilton Anderson.  

Bussiere doesn’t shy away from a challenge. When told by Dr. Veronika  Mogyorody that the University’s new Visual Arts and the Built Environment program (VABE) would be “difficult and demanding,” she was intrigued. In fall 2009, she enrolled as part of its first class.

VABE is a collaboration of the University of Windsor’s School of Creative Arts and the University of  Detroit Mercy’s (UDM) School of Architecture. It combines the study of art and architecture to give students a breadth of knowledge and experience in both disciplines. 

 For Bussiere, VABE combined very “loose” things like the visual arts with very technical things. “It was really fun,” she says. “Like solving a puzzle. I love thinking about how people move through space, or how architecture or cities can be influenced by and influence culture.  It’s thinking on so many different levels.” 

The VABE program focuses on art in the first two years. If a student’s primary interest is in visual arts, they can complete third and fourth year at the University of Windsor and graduate with a Bachelor of  Fine Arts in Visual Arts and the Built Environment.  If they are interested in pursuing architecture and qualify, in third year they can apply to the architectural program at UDM. 

For Bussiere, the goal was always architecture. “I wanted to study architecture, but I also wanted to learn the fundamentals of drawing and sculpture.”  She spent most of first year learning to draw in various mediums, as well as some painting and sculpture, which is helpful because architects need to be able to convey their design ideas visually.

 “The visual arts classes taught me how to control my hand for Modelling and drawing,” she says. “By second year, we were all so confident in our skills that we could model creatively and quickly in such great volume.”

 Bussiere spent her third-, and fourth-year co-op placements with Toronto-based B+H, one of Canada’s largest architectural firms. “I learned more and more about the architectural process.

I learned about ‘construction documents’ and how they zero in on finer details as a project progresses. Over time, I was given more and more responsibility.”

Through B+H, Bussiere worked on higher education buildings and on the Markham Pan Am Centre erected for the 2015Pan / Parapan American Games in Markham, Ont.

She earned a Bachelor of Arts in 2012 from U Windsor, part of VABE’s first graduating class. The alumna was accepted to the University of Detroit Mercy School of Architecture, and went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in 2013 and Master’s in Architecture in 2014.

 Bussiere joined Hamilton Anderson, a Detroit firm that handles a wide variety of projects that include architecture, landscape architecture, urban design, and interior design. 

 She initially began as an intern, but is now full time. “While you’re in school, you hear about firms from your professors and get in your mind where you’d like to work based on what they do and the people who work there.

 “Working with Hamilton Anderson appealed to me because they have a great studio environment and take on large-scale projects—but also smaller-scale projects—in the city of Detroit.”

 Detroit, freshly sprung from its term as the largest city in US history to declare bankruptcy, is working hard to transform itself. Part of this includes attracting investors and tenants to its once-bustling downtown. Hamilton  Anderson is one of the firms helping to shape its new face in an effort to reverse the exodus of businesses to the suburbs.

What Bussiere loves about her work is the range of projects she works on. “You’re constantly learning and it’s interesting.”

She also enjoys “the constant dialogue between you and the client and you and the contractor so that the work being done matches the needs, expectations and standards.”

The architecture of both Windsor and Detroit fascinates the grad. “I grew up in the area and want to learn more about its architectural background.” Of particular interest to her is Detroit, perceived by many to be on the cusp of a long-hoped for renaissance. During her UDM studies, projects frequently involved local sites in the Motor City.

 “I think it’s rare for an architectural program to focus on the Community aspect, and the need to create projects that benefit the community,” she says.

 “You came away from it with this sense that you have to be responsible with what you’re designing. We muse about the kinds of changes we can create as designers, architects, landscape architects and how we can tangibly change, because that’s what we’ve learned.”

 This story, reprinted with permission, originally appeared in the Spring 2015 issue of View the University of Windsor Alumni Magazine.

Every Day is Different: Ben’s Paramedic Story

Ben Kenter has been a paramedic with the Ottawa Paramedic Service for about a year.  So far, it seems that things are going well for this 25-year old Fanshawe College grad.  He’s helping people every day, working with a great professional team, and doing rewarding and challenging work.  And, as he told Iris Winston, there is lots of variety!

“The only thing that is the same is how a day starts. You come, do your truck check to make sure everything is up to snuff. After that, you are briefed on road construction and anything else that is likely to affect your day…” [then] “nothing is typical”.

Have a look as Iris Winston shares more about Ben and the growth in career opportunities in paramedicine – where one has to “expect the unexpected every day."

Lovely Rita: A Personal Support Worker’s Perspective on Helping Others

By Annette Dawm, WorkStory Ambassador

If you have been looking for Rita Parent over the years, her location may have varied. However, Rita can always be found helping others, no matter where she is. For the last decade, the Tonawanda, New York native has served as a Personal Support Worker for countless people in the London, Ontario area.

Originally, Rita went to school for nursing in the United States, but as Parent recalls, things didn’t go as planned: “When I moved to Canada in 1983, the government didn't recognize my diploma in nursing and I was a single mother at the time.... I was unable to start over until many years later, where I decided to take a bridging course as a PSW.”

 Before returning to school, Rita faced many challenges while raising her young son in a new country. Regardless, she remained committed to helping others, even though she was not recognized as a nurse in Canada:  “We lived in Haliburton, Ontario – one of the greatest tourism towns in Ontario. I became a waitress at Sir Sam’s Inn, which – in my eyes – was easy for me, as it was still something I could do [to] give the customer[s] what they needed. I loved that job.”

 Many people would think that re-entering the educational system after a long period of time would be a daunting or scary task, but not Rita! Her advice to other adults (especially single moms) who might be apprehensive about going back to school is to not to fear it at all: “Don't be afraid to go after what you want!” she exclaims. According to Rita, school can even be enjoyable as an adult! “As a mature student, I enjoyed school more. [I loved] it so much, I couldn't stop! I had to make some sacrifices, but I did it!”

Currently, Rita is a Personal Support Worker for Cheshire London. Cheshire provides attendant (PSW) services for clients in their own homes, to assist them with healthcare and daily living. She feels very fortunate to have found her calling in this field: “I was lucky to find a great job where I have to utilize all of my skills at a client’s home. My job gives an individual the care they need and the opportunity to live independently.” Rita has also been able to “learn and grow” from the many individuals she has worked with, including award-winning, Paralympic Athlete, Tammy McLeod.

 Personal Support Work and athleticism are not often thought of as two things that go hand-in-hand, but it turns out that they do!  Parent and McLeod excelled together when Rita worked as Tammy’s caregiver and sports assistant in boccia ball. Tammy McLeod is a member of the Canadian Paralympic Boccia Ball Team. Rita says that working with Tammy was the “most rewarding part” of her job as a PSW: “I learned so much about boccia ball through the eyes of many athletes with disabilities. Not only did I assist and care, but I became close friends with many people all over the world. I'm very grateful for the experiences!” Although she is no longer involved with sport, Rita says she keeps “a close watch” on Tammy and her career.

Rita Parent admits that being a personal support worker is “a very demanding occupation. It's not meant for everyone, but if you have what it takes you'll go far. You need to be compassionate and love your work....” For her, “there is no doubt... that the healthcare field is the way to go, and we are in great need of PSWs.... I hope I'm not too wishy-washy, but I really love my job!”